Review Indicates No Increased Prevalence Of CVD In Women With PCOS.

“Women with polycystic ovary syndrome [PCOS] are at higher risk for obesity and elevated cholesterol vs. healthy women, but” investigators “observed no increased prevalence of cardiovascular disease in this population” after reviewing “data from 47 longitudinal studies published between 1992 and 2018 that examined metabolic and CVD complications, with follow-up observations, in women with PCOS.” The findings were published online in Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews. https://www.healio.com/endocrinology/reproduction-androgen-disorders/news/in-the-journals/%7B015a99b0-8915-4c12-a829-35f57fdb5934%7D/no-increased-cvd-risk-observed-in-pcos

Baloxavir Cuts Median Length of Flu Symptoms But relief no faster than with Tamiflu

https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/uritheflu/74940?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2018-09-06&eun=g721819d0r&pos=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202018-09-06&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days

What Gene Variants Can Help Us Live Longer?

A new method has made it possible to identify twenty-five parallel mutations located in genes associated with wound healing, blood coagulation and cardiovascular disorders. The results could help to develop new drugs to treat ageing-related diseases. The research confirms the theory that some genes that help us in the initial stages of life are harmful to us once the reproductive stage has ended. Senescence, or biological ageing, refers to the general deterioration of an organism’s physiological functions, leading to increased susceptibility to diseases and ultimately death. It is a complex process that involves many genes. Lifespans vary greatly across different animal species. Thus, for example, flies live for four weeks, horses for thirty years, whereas some hedgehogs may live for up to two centuries. Why is the range of lifespans in nature so broad? This is one of the basic and most intriguing questions faced by biologists. Potentially, human beings can live for up to 120 years, whereas the species of some closer primates live for half that period. In order to explain the reasons behind these differences, researchers led by scientists at the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE), in collaboration with researchers at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), the University of Bristol and the University of Liverpool, have identified some of the genes that may have been crucial in extending the life of our species, as well as that of primates with a longer lifespan. The study has been published in the Molecular Biology & Evolution journal. In this work, the researchers studied the genomes of seventeen primate species, including humans. From the standpoint of ageing, primates are interesting because while they are very similar, there are major differences across the different species in terms of longevity. Hence, of all the species studied, only three ― humans and two macaques ― lived longer than the common ancestor, which proves that “they have undergone a relatively rapid process of lifespan evolution”, explains Arcadi Navarro, ICREA research professor at the IBE and the study leader. https://www.technologynetworks.com/genomics/news/what-gene-variants-can-help-us-live-longer-309157?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=65687876&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8PJ-8wQI-1CfgMeu8_XllGYT6dPFHG0SXg79l0uT3fFBWVxQWUHx8lZWspzGernuO95y8GdvoeSCPdCQA1c_tgiQtQ_A&_hsmi=65687876

Type 2 Diabetes Tied To Increased Carotid Plaque Burden

reports researchers found that “type 2 diabetes (T2D) was associated with an increased carotid plaque burden and negative remodeling, even when early in the diagnosis.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. https://www.endocrinologyadvisor.com/type-2-diabetes/carotid-artery-remodeling-t2d-early-diagnosis-plaque-vulnerability-obesity/article/792644/

Fish Oil in Third Trimester Tied to Higher BMI for Kids -This increase attributed to gains in lean mass, bone mineral content

However, there was no increased risk of obesity at age 6 years, they wrote in BMJ. https://www.medpagetoday.com/primarycare/dietnutrition/74920?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2018-09-05&eun=g721819d0r&pos=1&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%202018-09-05&utm_term=Daily%20Headlines%20-%20Active%20User%20-%20180%20days

Genetic engineering allows different species of bacteria to communicate with each other in the gut of a living mouse, setting the stage for a synthetic microbiome. More than 1,000 species of bacteria have been identified in the human gut, and understanding this incredibly diverse “microbiome” that can greatly impact health and disease is a hot topic in scientific research. Because bacteria are routinely genetically engineered in science labs, there is great excitement about the possibility of tweaking the genes of our intestinal interlopers so that they can do more than just help digest our food (e.g., record information about the state of the gut in real-time, report the presence of disease, etc.). However, little is known about how all those different strains communicate with each other, and whether it is even possible to create the kinds of signaling pathways that would allow information to be passed between them. Now, researchers from the Wyss Institute at Harvard University, Harvard Medical School (HMS), and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have successfully engineered a genetic signal-transmission system in which a molecular signal sent by Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria in response to an environmental cue can be received and recorded by E. coli in the gut of a mouse, bringing scientists a step closer to developing a “synthetic microbiome” composed of bacteria that are programmed to perform specific functions. The study is reported in ACS Synthetic Biology. “In order to improve human health through engineered gut bacteria, we need to start figuring out how to make the bacteria communicate,” said Suhyun Kim, a graduate student in the lab of Pamela Silver at the Wyss Institute and HMS, who is the first author of the paper. “We want to make sure that, as engineered probiotics develop, we have a means to coordinate and control them in harmony.” https://www.technologynetworks.com/diagnostics/news/a-telephone-for-your-microbiome-308428?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=65636534&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_1iQgpchQe3XJ2zl0Jxc7uF7QM4oixZWQrmrDE2fXhsLGJBG0nW6t9oBOQh0m2zm7JYB4gNY_FXXxk3eQKPjOfwOW9_A&_hsmi=65636534

Eye Damage Detected in Tears by Color-changing Sensor

We expect a significant potential impact of this biosensor for evaluating the eye in post-surgical patients as well as trauma patients,” said study leader Dipanjan Pan, a University of Illinois professor of bioengineering and the Carle Illinois College of Medicine. Previous work by the group found that ascorbic acid concentration in tears is a good measure for determining extent of injury to the eye. Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C, is found in high concentrations in the fluid inside the eye, called aqueous humor, but normally has very low concentration in tears. “Deep damage to the cornea from trauma or incisional surgery releases aqueous humor into the tear film, which increases the concentration of ascorbic acid in tears to a measurably higher level than that found in normal eyes,” said Pan, also affiliated with the Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology at Illinois. “OjoGel offers a unique biosensing technique that provides an effective and simple method for testing ascorbic acid in a point-of-care delivery system.” Pan’s group collaborated with Dr. Leanne Labriola, an ophthalmologist at Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, to develop OjoGel. “OjoGel technology may allow for faster identification of serious eye injuries,” Labriola said. “With a rapid point-of-care device such as this, anyone in an emergency department could perform a test and know within minutes if the patient needs urgent surgery to save their vision.” https://www.technologynetworks.com/diagnostics/news/color-changing-sensor-indicates-urgent-need-for-vision-saving-surgery-308426?utm_campaign=Newsletter_TN_BreakingScienceNews&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=65636534&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_1iQgpchQe3XJ2zl0Jxc7uF7QM4oixZWQrmrDE2fXhsLGJBG0nW6t9oBOQh0m2zm7JYB4gNY_FXXxk3eQKPjOfwOW9_A&_hsmi=65636534